Alice EP
From SistersWiki.org - The Sisters Of Mercy Fan Wiki
The Sisters of Mercy's fifth official release ...
The tracks on this record were initially produced by John Ashton
for the Alice 7" single and got released in full in the United States first,
when Les Mills, the then manager of the Psychedelic Furs and
somewhat The Sisters of Mercy's manager at the time as well,
gave an Alice 7" single and a tape of the full Ashton recordings
to Steve Pross, a representative of Brain Eater Records,
who then distributed the EP in the US and exported it to the ROW.
Release Notes
| Label | Catalogue | Format | Released | Remarks |
| Brain Eater Records | MR021 | 12" vinyl EP | 1983 - USA | Produced by John Ashton. The release included a promo press map and a feedback postcard. |
| Merciful Release | MR021 | 12" vinyl EP | March 1983 - UK | This release followed in response to imported copies of the American Brain Eater 12" surfacing in the UK at greatly inflated prices. |
| Merciful Release | MR021 | 12" vinyl EP | March 1983 - UK | UK repressing comes with barcode - Barcode: 5 016554 002167 - |
| Merciful Release | MR021 | 12" vinyl EP | March 1989 - The Netherlands | Published by Copyright Control Pressed by Sony/CBS, Haarlem – 08-25196-20, mastered by Porky |
Remarks
- The original Braineater issue was marketed and distributed by Braineater Records in the USA,
- mastered by George Peckham AKA Porky, and printed by MPO in France.
- Compared with the Alice (single), which had been released in 1982,
- the EP came with two additional tracks on the side B:
- - Phantom, one of the few instrumentals by The Sisters of Mercy, and
- - 1969, a cover of the Stooges'song
- that had been part of The Sisters setlist right from their very start.
- The EP was delivered with four inserts:
- - a copy of the original Matisse artwork used for the cover
- - a flyer promoting the Alice vinyl release
- and the release of The March Violets' Grooving In Green single;
- - an announcement flyer for The Sisters of Mercy's concert
- at Alexandria Hotel, Los Angeles on 29 October 1983;
- - and a copy of an early press review by Adam Sweeting dated 27 February 1982.
- As this first Sisters EP was such a success in the US and soon got (re-)imported
- to the UK at very high prices, an official Merciful Release issue followed hard on its heels.
- There are, however, different pressings of that Merciful Release version:
- - the original UK release, without barcode
- - a UK repressing with barcode on the backsleeve - Barcode: 5 016554 002167
- - a Dutch repressing with barcode on the backsleeve - Barcode: 5 016554 002167
- Made in Holland is printed on the label and spine
- - a French repressing does allegedly exist as well, but is just an error
- based on the fact that the vinyls were mostly pressed by MPO in France
- All EPs run at 45 rpm
Additional Remarks
- Runoff groove inscriptions:
- "im westen nichts neues-jesus loves the sisters"
- "for spiggy (foreign field)"
- "mein irisch kind. wo weilest du?"
- The cover art is Henri Matisse's painting Nude Blue II in gold print on black background.
- A special t-shirt was also designed upon the release (picture on the left).
- * our thanks for the pictures of the shirt go to HL Forum member ribbons69.
Tracks
| A1 Alice | 3:56 |
| A2 Floorshow | 3:47 |
| B1 Phantom | 7:16 |
| B2 1969 | 2:56 |
Band/Recording Personnel
- Craig Adams - Bass
- Gary Marx - Guitars
- Ben Gunn - Guitars
- Andrew Eldritch - Vocals
- Doktor Avalanche - Drums
Additional Pictures
- Please click into files for larger views -
Brain Eater US Release
UK Release
UK Repress
Dutch Repress
